The part inMy Hero Academia‘s Field Training Arc that I’ve been waiting for has finally arrived! I couldn’t stop yelling, and even then I was still exploding on the inside! I’m sure a lot of you were also amazed at how awesome this episode was!

Japanese Original Episode Title: ヒーロー殺しステインVS雄英生徒

Plot

Everything’s going downhill! Hosu City’s in chaos because of Nomus attacking indiscriminately. It took multiple heroes just to keep them at bay! And then there was Iida who wanted to avenge his brother by killing Stain, but the villain was clearly way out of his league! He was so close to dying then and there; thankfully two of his friends were around the area and came to save him, even though they, too, were still inexperienced children!

Episode Highlights

Heroes vs. Nomus:Shigaraki just had to go and wreak havoc on the city to show off and make the League of Villains seem more menacing than Stain! If All Might, the Number One hero himself, had trouble fending off the Nomus at USJ, imagine how hard it would be for the rest of them! They seemed to be trying their best, and even then, the Nomus were just treating them like flies! So, it’s a good thing that the next best thing to All Might came to the area: Endeavor! What were the odds that when he originally decided to go on patrol to hunt for Stain, the Nomus showed up! Here’s to hoping he also comes to help out the others on time like he did for Gran Torino!

Shigaraki’sSensei:Uh-oh! Judging by their conversation, it seems like the person mentoring Shigaraki really did have something to do with the creation of the Nomus! They were just treating them as tools to aid Shigaraki’s growth! Could it be that this master was the one All Might was pertaining to in the previous episode? Things are getting quite intriguing, and quite concerning.

Friends to the rescue:Congratulations to Iida for having marvelous friends who would willingly risk their lives to save his vengeful butt! And when he wanted them to lay off because Stain was his problem (they shouldn’t bother getting injured for his sake) they just looked at him like he was crazy! (Well, he was.) I just couldn’t help but be amazed at Midoriya and Todoroki: their level of heroism in the face of a foe way stronger than them, their quick-thinking and judgement! Just the fact that Midoriya got to analyze how Stain’s quirk worked in such a short amount of time despite it working in a somewhat weird way, and that Todoroki’s reaction time was so fast that he got to drive off both Stain’s attempt at licking his blood at the last second and from getting near his victims, proved that they were just the right people to help Iida, physically and mentally. However, the battle isn’t over yet! Let’s hope that their guts are more than enough to make up for their lack of experience, or that another pro hero comes to their rescue, especially since they were barely scraping by!

Character developments: I can’t believe that after less than three days of training with Gran Torino, our boy Deku already got the hang of his new technique, so much that he managed to hit Stain more than once, and for Iida to notice the changes! Meanwhile, because Todoroki finally got to have a talk with his mother, which freed him of his restraints, he’s finally using his left side now, making him even more efficient! He was also now able to face the fact that his father is the Number Two hero for a reason, so he could freely accept his hero training from one of the best.

Themes & Trivia

Friendship and Heroism:Deku and Todoroki proved the saying ‘A friend in need is a friend indeed’ to be quite true! They didn’t actually need to put their lives on the line against a skilled foe. They could’ve just immediately run to get help from a pro hero. But of course, despite it being the safest for themselves, that really isn’t the wisest in terms of saving their friend. Heck, we didn’t even really see Todoroki consider Iida as a friend before to put that much value on him! And then there’s another thought. If Deku wanted, he could’ve just saved Iida and have left Native behind! Even Todoroki could’ve proposed that! But these boys really are Iida’s friends and truly have the heart of a hero! I’m sure in normal circumstances Iida is heroic too, but he was just so consumed by his rage and need for vengeance that he prioritized killing Stain than saving Native.

Resentment:As Todoroki mentioned, resentment clouds a person’s vision, disabling them from thinking clearly and wisely because all that matters to them is hurting the one who hurt them. But when that fog lifts, they’ll find out that the solution to the problem had always been so simple. They just needed to take a step back and let go of their pride and anger.

Blood Compatibility: If you found weird for how long a person can be paralyzed by Stain’s quirk depending on their blood type, then you should remember compatibility. There are certain blood types that can donate and receive from specific ones, and vice-versa.

Comments

I just loved every second of this episode! Like I said in the start, I’ve always dreamed of seeing this part of the story animated, and everything was just so gorgeous! It might’ve been because I was too awestruck with all of it, but I never saw a drawing nor an animation out of place! From the simple movements to the dynamic ones, the character’s expressions, the small details to give the scene more depth, even the voice acting and the way the episode was written, I was just so blown away!

Friends are your shields!

We’ll have to wait another week just to find out what happens to the trio! Will Iida keep on wallowing in his self-pity and be unable to move forward? Will Deku and Todoroki successfully save their friend, or will they end up becoming another set of sacrifices for Stain’s ideal society?

Until then, feel free to express all your thoughts on this episode at the comments section below! Don’t forget to check out our other Summer 2017reviews as well!